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A homeowner was caught off guard when a burglar entered his home in Venice on Wednesday morning, causing him to confront the man naked as he was woken up from his sleep. Michelle Valles reports for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. from Venice Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014. (Published Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014)

Venice has seen more than a dozen property crimes recently, and for one resident, it produced an odd, pre-dawn encounter with an intruder.

Mitch Kirsch got up before dawn Wednesday to use the bathroom in his Santa Clara Street home when he bumped into the intruder.

"He was right in front of me," Kirsch said. "I'm naked the whole time, so it was a little awkward."

Kirsch grabbed the man, forced him to drop a laptop he was clutching and then let him go.

"I don't really want to hold on to this guy for 10 minutes naked," Kirsch said.

After the burglar ran off, another break-in happened two houses down, and police suspect it was the same man. He was described as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 135 pounds.

In a one-week period at the end of July, police said they recorded more than 30 property crimes in Venice.

"I was so glad this guy wasn't armed," said Izumi Hamagaki, Kirsch's girlfriend.

Two burglaries happened on their street Wednesday morning, police said.

The couple's high walls and locked doors helped, but they left a window open just a touch for their cat to go in and out.

Police say open doors and windows are the commonality behind the rash of Venice home burglaries.